Tech tools for Introductory Astronomy with NASA Opensource Data:

From 3D printing to Astro-Data Lab

NASA's open-source initiatives provide significant potential for exploration and educational engagement particularly in project-based learning within astronomy and other STEM courses. By integrating NASA's resources into the astronomy curriculum, we can transform traditional lecture-based teaching into a more engaging learning experience that fosters exploration and discovery among students. This approach also promotes widespread public outreach and exposure.

In this workshop, I will share the lab activities and capstone projects I designed under a grant funded by NASA SCoPE, in collaboration with the NASA SCi-ACT teams of Universe of Learning (UoL) and the NASA Community College Network (NCCN). These include: galaxy visualization, the Hubble constant derivation and ladder methods, and light curves generation using photometric image analysis. To enhance students' artistic expression, I incorporated resources for both 3D printing and virtual reality (VR) visualizations to allow students to engage with various representations.

This workshop is free and will be virtual using Zoom.

Facilitator: Mojgan Haghanikar (Chicago City Colleges)

Acknowledgment: "Leveraging NASA Astronomical Data with SciAct for Community Colleges" is a collaboration between the NASA SciAct Team, the NASA Community College Network, and scientist Mojgan M. Haghanikar, supported by Arizona State University in partnership with NASA's Science.